


what's the softest way to say you took away my friend?

by tmmyPog (napkinz)



Series: DSMP Time Travel/World Jump AU [1]
Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: (tommy going "hey karl! i am fucking dying!" at karl), ??? idk man, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Based on a Dream, Curses, Dead Toby Smith | Tubbo, Enderman Hybrid Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Gen, How Do I Tag, Hurt No Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Raccoon Hybrid TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Time Travel, aka i had a plan for the ending, but i do not feel like writing it, i am laughing at tubbo's curse. you will see why eventually. >:], let ranboo and tommy be friends pls, no don't expect me to actually continue it LMAO, they are kids. they shouldn't know how to deal with this kinda stuff, they got curses n stuff >:], yeah i do plan on continuing this universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-23 11:08:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30054531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/napkinz/pseuds/tmmyPog
Summary: “link, ranboo,” tommy says teasingly when ranboo doesn’t look up. tommy shoves his outstretched finger into ranboo’s side, startling him up.“hey,” ranboo says, a smile making it’s way onto his own face. ranboo laughs pathetically. tommy just shoves his pinky at ranboo again. he looks mad. ranboo knows he’s not.or, an example of a "fix-it" travel gone wrong.title from "Just Take My Wallet" by Jack Stauber.
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s), Ranboo & Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, Ranboo & Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit & Karl Jacobs, Ranboo & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), only implied tho - Relationship, that's also only implied lol
Series: DSMP Time Travel/World Jump AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2210973
Kudos: 88





	what's the softest way to say you took away my friend?

**Author's Note:**

> HEY GUYS BEEN A WHILE (AGAIN) BWAHAHA
> 
> BRUH I WROTE A BUNCH FOR THE NOTES AND IT RELOADED AND DELETED IT ALL GOODBYE. BASICALLY, IF YOU'RE CONFUSED JUST UHHH WAIT FOR SOME MORE INSTALLMENTS OF THE SERIES :D AND BASICALLY THERE'S A DIFFERENT CONCEPT FOR THE ENDERWALK AND THE INBETWEEN! YEAH TY BYE <3

while everyone’s in shock (it looks more like they’re frozen in time) ranboo is holding tommy so gently like he’ll shatter if he does otherwise, muttering, “no, no, no, you can’t leave me too, please don’t go-”

  
tommy? he’s just hysterically laughing, because holy hell, there is an arrow in my stomach. “that’s happened before. kinda funny, innit?”

ranboo just laughs too because no matter what, tommy’s just always so… him. he hates it. (he doesn’t.)

  
“hey, hey,” tommy says, smiling as if there wasn’t an arrow through his stomach, slowly killing him. “it’s alright dude. i’ve still got another two left, yeah? the resurrection and all that. gave me all my lives back,” tommy laughs again. “besides, it’s not like i’m not used to feeling this.” ranboo hates that they can say it. “i’ll be back in the inbetween while you’re doing your thing here, right? i’m not going anywhere.” tommy’s smile falls slightly, squinting at the sky. “wait, no, yeah, i’m going somewhere. back to the inbetween. i’ll see you there when you’re sent back.”

  
ranboo sighs just a little bit with relief at the reminder that tommy still has some lives left, that he won’t leave as tubbo did. it still hurts, though, because he won’t be seeing tommy for a while. again. ranboo doesn’t like being away from tommy.

  
the expression ranboo sees on tommy’s face is forlorn. “uh,” he tries to smile again. it looks painful. “karl should be here soon.”

  
“okay,” ranboo whispers, leaning his head into tommy’s neck. he doesn’t care if the tears constantly running down tommy’s face give him more scars. he doesn’t care. he needs this. “okay.”

  
tommy lifts his hand, holding his pinky out to ranboo. “don’t lose yourself. write in that book of yours, yeah?” it’s a promise all three (there used to be four of them, a terrible reminder to every one of them whenever they heard the number three) of the time travelers say to each other before leaving someone to their own devices, or before they leave the inbetween or their home timeline. they all have their own books to write in. ranboo’s the only one that uses his a lot. tommy doesn’t seem to care as long as he knows who karl, ranboo, and tubbo are, and karl has patches and pins to keep himself in touch.

  
“link, ranboo,” tommy says teasingly when ranboo doesn’t look up. tommy shoves his outstretched finger into ranboo’s side, startling him up.

  
“hey,” ranboo says, a smile making it’s way onto his own face. ranboo laughs pathetically. tommy just shoves his pinky at ranboo again. he looks mad. ranboo knows he’s not genuinely mad.

  
ranboo sniffs and lifts his own pinky to link with tommy’s. tommy smiles again. ranboo would do anything to never see that smile go away. the enderman closes his eyes so he doesn’t have to see his friend’s pain. so he doesn’t have to see his smile turn strained. turn pained, struggling to hang onto the last thread of this life. ranboo knows tommy feels the same way he does about tommy not smiling or laughing. tommy doesn’t like how it feels or how he looks to other people when he isn’t smiling. tommy knows what it looks like when he isn’t, he just looks sad and miserable. tommy doesn’t like how it feels to be sad. to be unhappy at all. it hurts.

  
ranboo hears tommy struggling to not choke on his blood, his labored breath, and ranboo almost bursts into tears himself. he can already feel himself slipping back into his enderwalk state. he’ll do his best to hang onto consciousness, though, because this isn’t a safe place, not yet, with all the people who don’t yet know how to deal with his enderwalk state and him in general.

  
a hand grasps onto the front of ranboo’s shirt. ranboo knows how hard it is to lose a life. he’s lost one, too, and gosh is it painful. he can’t bring himself to believe that tommy’s been through this almost four times now, and even had to go through what tommy described as even worse than losing a life… true death itself. tommy described being torn apart and being put back together again, and nobody they know personally has ever been able to put it through their mind just how awful it can be. losing a life and respawning is already absolutely horrid… ranboo can’t fathom how scared tommy must be to lose every life again.

  
ranboo doesn’t like how long it’s taking for tommy to let go, either. he hates seeing and hearing one of his best friends in pain for this long.

  
“you’re so stubborn,” ranboo murmurs. he's afraid of talking any louder. (not that tommy teasing ranboo over a voice crack hurts emotionally, but ranboo fears tommy straining himself even more.) he hears tommy laugh again.

  
“well, yeah… you know how i am,” tommy says. “sorry. i’m just scared that i won’t actually wake up, y’know? i don’t…” tommy coughs. he struggles to take in another breath. “i don’t kn-know if the resurrection actually gave m...e back all my lives… we sorta… just assumed.”

  
ranboo hums. “it’s,” ranboo takes a deep breath. “it’s okay, toms. just… let go, okay? i have a feeling you’ll be alright.”

  
“but how do you... kn… ow?” he sounds terrified.

  
“i don’t.”

  
tommy sounds like he’s genuinely crying now. it’s not the curse making him, it’s him. he’s crying. it physically hurts ranboo to hear. “i don’t... want to go back,” tommy tells him. “i don’t want to s-see wilbur agai- again, _please_ -”

  
ranboo doesn’t think he can do anything about that if tommy doesn’t respawn.

* * *

the next time they meet in the inbetween, ranboo doesn't let go of tommy for hours. tommy doesn't tease him. karl simply watches guiltily from the sidelines.


End file.
